Carnegie Hall Presents The Eyes of the World: From D-Day to VE Day Saturday, June 6 and Tuesday, June 9 in Zankel Hall

Historian and Narrator John Monsky Captures the Dramatic Final Months of World War II With Multimedia Production Featuring 35-Piece Orchestra and Leading Broadway Artists, Historic Video, Original American Flags From Normandy Beach and Beyond, and Images from the Archives of Legendary Photojournalists

Historian and narrator John Monsky brings his groundbreaking American History Unbound series back to Zankel Hall on Saturday, June 6 and Tuesday, June 9 with The Eyes of the World: From D-Day to VE Day—an exciting multimedia production that tells the powerful story of the American landing on the Normandy beaches and subsequent 11 months of battle that finally secured victory in Europe.

On June 5, 1944, on the eve of D-Day, Major General Dwight D. Eisenhower told American forces, “The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.” While D-Day marked a turning point and pathway to victory, the landings and eleven months of battle that followed would be among the most brutal for the American troops and Allied forces.

War photojournalist Lee Miller with American soldiers during World War II (photo taken by David Scherman)

This immersive concert experience, presented with the New-York Historical Society in the 75th anniversary year of VE Day, recounts this period through striking photography from the archives of American photojournalist Lee Miller, who, reporting for Vogue magazine, was among the 127 accredited female journalists covering the war, as well as letters home from a young American intelligence officer who landed at Normandy and fought with the army through VE day. Along the way, they connected with legendary American writer Ernest Hemingway and photojournalist Robert Capa. The paths of these four remarkable figures intersect and intertwine as they served as the “eyes for the world” from D-Day to eventual victory.

The program features the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, conducted by music supervisor Ian Weinberger (Hamilton), joined by leading Broadway vocalists including Nick Cordero (Waitress, A Bronx Tale), Kate Rockwell (Mean Girls), Tony LePage (Come From Away), and Bryonha Parham (After Midnight) performing evocative music of the era—from La Vie en Rose and Woody Guthrie’s What Are We Waiting On to signature songs of legendary bandleader Glenn Miller who volunteered for the Army at the height of his career—and selections from the film soundtracks of Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers. Tickets for the June 6 and 9 performances are on sale to the general public now.

The American History Unbound series, exploring watershed moments in American history, combines live music performed by celebrated Broadway actors and a full orchestra, incorporating film, photography, historic flags and material culture from Monsky’s personal collection. Narrated by Monsky with a script punctuated with his own memories and observations, each production includes powerful examinations of singular and pivotal events—from the Revolutionary War and Civil War to D-Day—turning points in history that changed America.

Decades ago, Monsky’s mother bought her 12-year-old son his first “flag,” a red kerchief (an artifact from Theodore Roosevelt’s unsuccessful 1912 presidential bid), to appease his boredom while on a routine shopping outing. Today, his collection of flags and textiles — tangible artifacts that connect us to our history — has become one of the finest in the country. As his collection grew, so did annual Flag Day presentations held in Monsky’s apartment. As the events grew larger in scope—adding bands and Broadway singers to accent his talks—they eventually required portal-widening-living room-construction to accommodate friends and family, all riveted by Monsky’s storytelling. Sought-after invitations to these informal gatherings attracted the attention of The New Yorker in 2012, when Monsky took a second look at the War of 1812, with a presentation that included the commissioning pennant from the great wooden frigate, the USS Constitution. Louise Mirrer, the President and CEO of the New-York Historical Society, where Monsky is a trustee, recalled, “I attended the Flag Day celebrations and was absolutely dazzled. One of those years after viewing…a really exceptional explication of history, I said to John, ‘you know, you should do that in our auditorium.’” She has since called his D-Day production “the most moving event ever presented on the Society’s stage.”

Monsky has been creating and performing his American History Unbound productions for over a decade and was recently honored by the New-York Historical Society. After two previous sold-out productions—The Vietnam War: At Home and Abroad (2018) and We Chose To Go To The Moon (2019)—The Eyes of the World is the third installment of American History Unbound to be presented at Carnegie Hall.

“John has a passion for combining storytelling, music, visuals, and film in unique and creative ways that bring history to life and that connect emotionally with his audiences,” said Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall. “We look forward to this next edition which will take us through some of the most important moments of World War II, traveling on a journey that is sure to be powerful as well as illuminating.”

Like Monsky’s previous productions, The Eyes of the World includes tangible historic objects woven into the storytelling narrative, some of which have been in storage and not seen by the public for more than 75 years. His presentation includes the flag famously placed by Rudder’s Rangers on the rocks of Pointe du Hoc to mark the command post; a rarely-seen divisional color of the US 29th Infantry Division, which suffered tremendous losses on the beaches of Normandy; the flag from landing craft LCI 94, which picked up photojournalist Robert Capa from Omaha Beach on D-Day; community “service banners” hung in schools and churches across America, with blue stars indicating the number of their “boys” in service, plus more.

“I did not start out looking for the figures we follow in this production—Hemingway, Capa, Miller, and a young intelligence officer who landed on D-Day,” said John Monsky. “They revealed themselves as we researched a single flag flown on a Higgins boat and the boys it carried to the beaches. Every twist and turn surprised us as the story unfolded, with its conclusion making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end, as Lee Miller and others come together in some of the War’s most dark and haunting places.”

“We are grateful for the contributions of historian and author Alex Kershaw, the staff of the American Battle Monuments Commission and The National World War II Museum, as well as Katie Couric and John Molner for their encouragement and passion to tell the stories of American history. It’s also been an extraordinary privilege to work with Lee Miller’s family—her son Antony Penrose and granddaughter Ami Bouhassane—to expose her work to the wider audience it deserves.”

Carnegie Hall Presents Jazz Guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel in Zankel Hall on Saturday, March 21 at 9:00 PM

Joined by World-Class Musicians, Rosenwinkel Performs Songs from his Brazilian Inspired Album Caipi

On Saturday, March 21 at 9:00 p.m., renowned jazz guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel performs in Zankel Hall as part of the Joyce and George T. Wein Shape of Jazz series. With a career spanning 25 years, Rosenwinkel is widely considered one the most important and influential jazz guitarists of his generation. For this special performance, Rosenwinkel’s talents will be on display as he sings and plays guitar, joined by musical collaborators from both Brazil and the United States—Pedro Martins (Guitar and Vocals), Frederico Heliodoro (Electric Bass), Antonio Loureiro (Keyboards), Felipe Viegas (Keyboards), and Bill Campbell (Drums)—to perform songs from Caipi, an album described as “immediately gripping” by Jazz Times.

The conceptual influence of Kurt Rosenwinkel’s music can be readily observed on a global scale. Whether in concert halls, basement jazz club wee hours jam sessions, conservatory practice rooms or radio station airwaves, Rosenwinkel’s distinctive voice as a composer and guitarist has had an undeniable impact on music in the 21st century.

Kur Rosenwinkel. Photo courtesy of Carnegie Hall.

The American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer has gained international recognition for his deft artistry and unabated individualism since he first appeared on the New York music scene in 1991. His legacy as the pre-eminent jazz guitar voice of his generation is plainly evident on his eleven albums as a leader, each one the inspiration for legions of musicians young and old across the globe. Rosenwinkel’s aesthetic vision and multi-genre facility has caught the ear of some of modern music’s most prominent stars; collaborations with Eric Clapton, Q-tip, Gary Burton, Paul Motian, Joe Henderson, Brad Mehldau, and Donald Fagen are but a few highlights from a remarkably diverse and extensive catalogue of over 150 sideman recordings.

Carnegie Hall Announces 2020-2021 Artist Lineup for American Byways Concerts Curated by Rosanne Cash

Performances to Feature Two Exciting Double Bills: Legendary Producers and Songwriters T Bone Burnett and Joe Henry on November 13; and Grammy Award-Winning Artists The Fairfield Four and Ranky Tanky on February 25

Carnegie Hall has announced the all-star lineup of artists for two exciting double-bill American Byways concerts to be presented in Zankel Hall in the 2020–2021 season. Curated and hosted by singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash (who was a Carnegie Hall Perspectives artist in the 2015–2016 season), these one-of-a kind performances take New York audiences on a journey through American roots music, featuring Appalachian traditions, the blues, and more.

American Byways Block. Photo of T Bone Burnett by Josh Cheuse; Joe Henry by Jacob Blickenstaff; Ranky Tanky by Peter Frank Edwards.

On Friday, November 13, 2020 at 9:00 p.m., Cash brings together two iconic producers and songwriters––T Bone Burnett and Joe Henry—for a very special concert. Renowned for producing ground-breaking albums by artists including Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Willie Nelson, and Elton John, Burnett was also behind the soundtrack for films like Walk the Line and O Brother, Where Art Thou?. Mentored in part by Burnett, Joe Henry has earned acclaim for producing albums by artists including Bonnie Raitt, Allen Toussaint, and Rhiannon Giddens (whom Burnett has worked with as well). For this rare double bill performance, Burnett’s fluid guitar-playing and thoughtful songwriting is paired with Henry’s deeply personal and marvelously eclectic style of storytelling with inflections of rock, folk, country, and jazz.

Multiple Grammy and Academy Award winner Joseph Henry “T Bone” Burnett is a producer, musician and songwriter. Known recently for composing and producing music for the critically acclaimed HBO series True Detective, his film work includes the five-time Grammy winning soundtrack for O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Big Lebowski, Cold Mountain, The Hunger Games, Crazy Heart and Walk The Line, amongst others. He has collaborated with numerous artists including Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Roy Orbison and won Album of the Year and Record of the Year Grammy Awards for Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’s Raising Sand.

In a career spanning more than 30 years, Joe Henry has left an indelible and unique imprint on American popular music. As a songwriter and artist, Mr. Henry is celebrated for his exploration of the human experience. A hyper-literate storyteller, by turns dark, devastating, and hopeful, he draws an author’s eye for the overlooked detail across a broad swath of American musical styles—rock, jazz and blues—rendering genre modifiers useless.

Mr. Henry has collaborated with many notable artists on his own body of work, including Don Cherry and T Bone Burnett (Shuffletown, 1990), Victoria Williams and the Jawhawks‘s Gary Louris and Marc Perlman (Kindness of the World, 1993), guitarists Page Hamilton (Trampoline, 1996), Daniel Lanois and Jakob Dylan (Fuse, 1999), Ornette Coleman, Brad Mehldau, Marc Ribot, Brian Blade, and Meshell Ndegeocello (Scar, 2001), Bill Frisell and Van Dyke Parks (Civilians, 2007), Jason Moran (Blood From Stars, 2009), Lisa Hannigan (Invisible Hour, 2014).

Carnegie Hall Presents The Crossing in Zankel Hall on Wednesday, March 25 at 7:30 PM

Grammy Award-Winning Choir Performs New York Premiere of Michael Gordon’s Travel Guide to Nicaragua Featuring Cellist Maya Beiser

On Wednesday, March 25 at 7:30 p.m. in Zankel Hall. Grammy Award-winning new music choir The Crossing, led by Donald Nally, performs the New York premiere of Michael Gordon’s Travel Guide to Nicaragua with cutting-edge cellist Maya Beiser, a work co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall as part of its 125 Commissions Project.

Photo of The Crossing by Kevin Vondrak and photo of Maya Beiser by ioulex.

Travel Guide to Nicaragua is inspired by Gordon’s hazy memory of his first eight years of life living on the outskirts of Managua, Nicaragua with his Eastern European parents who had emigrated to the country. In writing this third substantial work for The Crossing, Gordon—one of the founding members of Bang on a Can—also reaches beyond his childhood memories, pondering the world of the Maya and Aztecs and drawing on the words of poet Rube´n Dari´o and Mark Twain, who visited the country in the mid-1860s.

There’s a pre-concert talk at 6:30 p.m.: Conductor Donald Nally and composer Michael Gordon in conversation with John Schaefer, host of WNYC’s New Sounds and Soundcheck. Support for the 125 Commissions Project is provided by members of Carnegie Hall’s Composer Club.

Hailed as “America’s most astonishing choir” (The New York Times) and “ardently angelic,” (The Los Angeles Times), The Crossing is a Grammy-winning professional chamber choir conducted by Donald Nally and dedicated to new music. It is committed to working with creative teams to make and record new, substantial works for choir that explore and expand ways of writing for choir, singing in choir, and listening to music for choir. Many of its nearly 90 commissioned premieres address social, environmental, and political issues. With a commitment to recording its commissions, The Crossing has issued 19 releases, receiving two Grammy Awards for Best Choral Performance (2018, 2019), and five Grammy nominations in three years. They have presented nearly 90 commissioned world premieres.

The Crossing collaborates with some of the world’s most accomplished ensembles and artists, including the New York Philharmonic, LA Phil, the American Composers Orchestra, Network for New Music, Lyric Fest, Piffaro, Tempesta di Mare Baroque Chamber Orchestra, the Annenberg Center, Beth Morrison Projects, The Rolling Stones, the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), and more. The Crossing holds an annual residency at the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center in Big Sky, Montana where they are working on an extensive, multi-year project with composer Michael Gordon and filmmaker Bill Morrison. Their concerts are broadcast regularly on WRTI 90.1FM, Philadelphia’s Classical and Jazz Public Radio.

The Crossing’s recordings of Robert Convery and Benjamin Boyle’s Voyages (August 2019, Innova) and Kile Smith’s The Arc in the Sky (July 2019, Navona) were both nominated for 2020 Grammy Awards for Best Choral Performance. Lansing McLoskey‘s Zealot Canticles won the 2019 Grammy; The Crossing’s collaboration with PRISM, Gavin Bryars’ The Fifth Century (ECM, October 2016), won the 2018 Grammy Award; and Thomas Lloyd’s Bonhoeffer (Albany 2016) was nominated for the 2017 Grammy, all for Best Choral Performance. The Crossing, with Donald Nally, was the American Composers Forums’ 2017 Champion of New Music. The Crossing’s 2014 commission Sound from The Bench by Ted Hearne was named a 2018 Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Music. Learn more at www.crossingchoir.org.

Hailed for her “stirring emotional power” by The New York Times, Maya Beiser has been called a “cello rock star” by Rolling Stone, praised as “a force of nature” by The Boston Globe, and dubbed “the queen of Avant-garde cello” by The Washington Post.

Raised on a Kibbutz in the Galilee Mountains in Israel, by her Argentinean father and French mother, Beiser was discovered at the age of twelve by the late violinist Isaac Stern. Upon graduating from Yale University, she embarked on a rebellious career, passionately forging her artistic path through uncharted territories, expanding her art form and bringing a bold and unorthodox presence to contemporary classical music.

Beiser is a featured performer on the world’s most prestigious stages including Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, BAM, The Kennedy Center, BBC Proms, London’s Southbank Centre, Royal Albert Hall and the Barbican, Sydney Opera House, Barcelona’s L’auditori, Paris’ Theatre de La Ville, Stockholm’s Concert Hall, and in major venues and festivals across five continents.

Among the wide range of artists she has collaborated with are Philip Glass, Louis Andriessen, Erin Cressida-Wilson, Brian Eno, Shirin Neshat, Steve Reich, Lucinda Childs, Michael Gordon, Julia Wolfe, Mark Anthony Turnage, David Lang, Bill Morrison, and Wendy Whelan.

Beiser’s discography includes twelve solo albums, many of them topping the classical music charts. In the summer of 2019, she launched her own record label – Islandia Music records – and released delugEON, a concept album that deconstructs the classical canon. On January 10 2020, she released “Bowie Cello Symphonic: Blackstar” – a reimagination of David Bowie’s last album – topping the Classical Crossover charts and receiving rave reviews. Beiser is the featured soloist on many film soundtracks, including an extensive collaboration with James Newton Howard.

Maya Beiser is a United States Artists Distinguished Fellow in Music and was a Mellon Distinguished Visiting Artist at MIT. Her mainstage TED Talk has been watched by over one million people. (www.mayabeiser.com)

Over the past 30 years, Michael Gordon has produced a strikingly diverse body of work, ranging from large-scale pieces for high-energy ensembles and major orchestral commissions to works conceived specifically for the recording studio and kaleidoscopic works for groups of identical instruments. Transcending categorization, his music represents the collision of mysterious introspection and brutal directness.

This season, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players with Roomful of Teeth and Splinter Reeds premiere the concert-length In a Strange Land, the Strings of Autumn festival in Prague feature Gordon as composer-in-residence and perform Timber plus all of Gordon’s string quartets; and the percussion/piano/bass trio Bearthoven premieres a new work.

Carnegie Hall Announces 2020-2021 Season

Voices of Hope: Artists in Times of Oppression

Citywide Carnegie Hall festival examines the role of artists during times of tyranny and injustice with 16 concerts at Carnegie Hall and events at 40+ NYC partner institutions

Perspectives 2020-2021:

Rhiannon Giddens, Yannick Nézet-Séguin & Jordi Savall

Three captivating series, personally curated by renowned singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and speaker Rhiannon Giddens, early music explorer, viola da gamba virtuoso, and conductor Jordi Savall, and acclaimed conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin invite audiences to gain deeper insights into musical viewpoints of leading artists of our time

Debs Composer’s Chair: Andrew Norman

Celebrated American composer Andrew Norman leads season-long residency with nine performances, including orchestral, chamber, and new music concerts, and exciting new works commissioned by Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall’s Opening Night Gala

2020-2021 season launches on October 7 with festive Opening Night Gala concert featuring Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, joined by pianist Lang Lang and soprano Liv Redpath

Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director, announced Carnegie Hall’s 2020–2021 season consisting of more than 170 concerts as well as wide-ranging education and community programs created by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. The upcoming season includes performances by many of the world’s greatest artists and ensembles representing classical, world, jazz, and pop music, with events presented on Carnegie Hall’s three stages, in the Hall’sResnick Education Wing, and throughout New York City.

Programming highlights include a citywide Carnegie Hall festival—Voices of Hope: Artists in Times of Oppression—from March–May 2021; three exciting Perspectives series curated by singer-songwriter Rhiannon Giddens; conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin; and early music explorer, conductor, and viola da gamba virtuoso Jordi Savall; and the appointment of celebrated American composer Andrew Norman to hold the Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair.

“As we consider the remarkable range of experiences in Carnegie Hall’s 2020-2021 season, we are reminded of the amazing power that music can have in our lives—its ability to not only elevate us, but to play a role in enabling us to look at issues with fresh eyes, illuminating new perspectives, and helping us to feel connected with one another,” said Gillinson. “Our Voices of Hope festival promises to be a special journey, inviting audiences to explore the inspiring role that artists have played in some of the darkest chapters of our shared history—capturing stories or a moment in time and expressing hope, courage, and resistance in the face of the unimaginable. Our four curated series are in the hands of some of the most creative artists working today, each challenging us to explore through music, with programming that brings their unique viewpoints to the forefront. With so many concerts spanning musical genres performed by the world’s finest artists and ensembles, it promises to be a season rich with new discoveries.”

2020–2021 Carnegie Hall Season Overview
Carnegie Hall’s 130th season launches on Wednesday, October 7 with an Opening Night Gala performance by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, led by Music and Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, marking the orchestra’s first appearances at Carnegie Hall in 30 years. The celebratory program includes John Adams’s Tromba Lontana, Grieg’s Piano Concerto featuring Lang Lang along with selections from Grieg’s Peer Gynt with soprano Liv Redpath. Following Opening Night, the orchestra returns to the Hall for two consecutive evenings of concerts, performing premieres of works by Andrew Norman and Gabriela Smith, plus music by Ginastera and Mahler.

From March-May 2021, Carnegie Hall presents Voices of Hope: Artists in Times of Oppression, a citywide festival spotlighting the resilience of artists throughout history and the life-affirming power of music and the arts during times of oppression and tyranny. With 16 concerts at Carnegie Hall crossing musical genres and thought-provoking events at more than 40 prestigious partner organizations, the festival kicks off at Carnegie Hall on March 12 with Rhiannon Giddens and Friends: Songs of Our Native Daughters, where Giddens and her group of black female banjo players, Our Native Daughters, draw from historical sources to reimagine our collective past, shining a new light on African American women’s stories of struggle, resistance, and hope. The festival extends across New York City over three months with exhibitions, performances, talks, film screenings, and more, further exploring how the arts have been used as a tool for activism, resistance, solidarity, and hope.

Angélique Kidjo Concludes her Perspective Series at Carnegie Hall

Special Guests Brittany Howard, Manu Dibango, Baaba Maal, and Yemi Alade Announced for Daughter of Independence Concert in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage on Saturday, March 14

Celebratory Program Marks Kidjo’s 60th Birthday an the Anniversary of Independence for Benin and 16 other West African Nations

On the heels of winning her fourth Grammy Award, Angélique Kidjo concludes her Perspectives series with Daughter of Independence on Saturday, March 14 at 8:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium/ Perelman Stage. The concert marks both her 60th birthday and the anniversary of independence of her native Benin in addition to sixteen other West African nations. For this momentous occasion, Kidjo is joined by Grammy Award-winning vocalist Brittany Howard (of Alabama Shakes), legendary Cameroonian singer Manu Dibango, Senegalese singer and guitarist Baaba Maal, and Nigerian Afropop singer-songwriter Yemi Alade, to celebrate her remarkable musical career. Major support for the Angélique Kidjo Perspectives series has been provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation.

Angélique Kidjo Concludes her Perspective Series at Carnegie Hall with Special Guests Brittany Howard, Manu Dibango, Baaba Maal, and Yemi Alade. Photos courtesy of Carnegie Hall

“When I look back at 60 years of independence for my country, I feel that my life and career have been shaped in many ways by the postcolonial history of West Africa: I consider myself a true daughter of African independence,” says Kidjo. “I hope the audience leaves the March performance understanding that it doesn’t matter where you come from; it doesn’t matter your skin color or which language you speak. Music reduces it all to the fundamental element that speaks to us all as human beings.”

Program Information

Saturday, March 14, 2020 at 8:00 PM

Angélique Kidjo, Daughter Of Independence, Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage

With special guests

• Brittany Howard
• Manu Dibango
• Baaba Maal
• Yemi Alade

Tickets: $34–$90

About the Artists

Angélique Kidjo’s performances over the past two decades have thrilled audiences and left an indelible mark on the history of Carnegie Hall. In 2014, she closed Carnegie Hall’s UBUNTU festival with a tribute to singer Miriam Makeba that inspired concertgoers—including Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu—to rise to their feet and sing along. In 2017, Talking Heads lead singer David Byrne joined Kidjo on stage for her cover of the band’s hit “Once in a Lifetime” before she led a conga line that made its way throughout Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage. The upcoming series is sure to give audiences more unforgettable moments with performances featuring outstanding guest artists joining together to celebrate one of music’s most vibrant voices.

Kidjo is one of the greatest artists in international music today. A creative force with 14 albums to her name, Time magazine has called her “Africa’s premier diva.” The BBC has included her in its list of the continents’ 50 most iconic figures, and, in 2011, The Guardian listed her as one of their Top 100 Most Inspiring Women in the World. Forbes magazine has ranked Angélique as the first woman in their list of the Most Powerful Celebrities in Africa. She is the recipient of the prestigious 2015 Crystal Award given by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and the 2016 Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award.

Carnegie Hall Announces MCs Selected for Master Classes with Legendary Hip-Hop Artist Black Thought

Nine MCs from Across the US Selected to Participate in Master Classes, February 3-5, As Part of Carnegie Hall’s Series of Artist Training Workshops

The MCs Will Perform in a Public Showcase, Hosted by Black Thought, on February 5

Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute announced that nine rising MCs have been selected, after review of a significant number of applications, to participate in a free workshop led by legendary hip-hop artist Black Thought from February 3-5, 2020 as part of the Hall’s ongoing series of artist training workshops and master classes for young professional musicians. The MCs, who have been recognized as exceptionally talented rising artists in hip-hop, are:

• Bones Brigante (New York, New York)
• Dell-P (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
• Le’Asha (Lanham, Maryland)
• Maimouna Youssef aka Mu Mu Fresh (Baltimore, Maryland)
• Mo.st (Orange Park, Florida)
• Queen Jo (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
• Rahzel Jr. (Rye, New York)
• Saba The Godis (Lewisville, Texas)
• Shawn Smith (Lansdowne, Pennsylvania)

Marking the culmination of the inaugural hip-hop master class at Carnegie Hall, the MCs who have trained with Black Thought during the multi-day workshop focused on lyricism, flow, style, and delivery, will perform a final showcase, open to the public, hosted by The Roots front man. The performance will take place onWednesday, February 5 at 7:30 p.m. in the Weill Music Room in Carnegie Hall’s Resnick Education Wing.

Artists on the rise are given valuable access to world-class performers and composers through free workshops and master classes for young professional musicians (ages 18-35), created by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI). Participants are selected after responding to an open call for auditions. These up-and coming musicians receive personal coaching and mentoring from leading artists, helping them to reach their artistic and professional goals. Previous workshops and master classes presented by WMI have featured Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming, Marilyn Horne, Zakir Hussain, Abdullah Ibrahim, Bobby McFerrin, Brad Mehldau, Paquito d’Rivera, and more celebrated artists across multiple genres.

Black Thought Image by © Dario Calmese

Tariq Trotter, aka Black Thought, is an American rap artist and MC for the Philadelphia-based hip-hop group, The Roots. Trotter, who co-founded The Roots with drummer Questlove, is widely lauded for his complex and politically aware lyrical content and his sharply live performances.

The four-time Grammy Award winning artist – along with his band The Roots – are a staple in late-night television, starring as the house band for NBC’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. As an influencer and innovator in the music industry for more than two decades, the rap lyricist has collaborated with numerous industry-leading artists. Tariq also served as a co-producer on the Grammy Award-winning original Broadway cast recording of Hamilton.

Conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner Celebrates Beethoven at Carnegie Hall

Sir John Eliot Gardiner Curates Carnegie Hall Perspectives Series Featuring His Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique Performing A Complete Beethoven Symphony Cycle on Period Instruments in Five Concerts, February 19-24

Winter Concerts Are Part of Carnegie Hall’s Beethoven Celebration in Honor of the 250th Anniversary of the Composer’s Birth

This February, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Artistic Director and Conductor of the internationally acclaimed period instrument ensemble Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique (ORR), curates a five-concert Perspectives series at Carnegie Hall, featuring a complete Beethoven symphony cycle performed as part of Carnegie Hall’s season-long celebration of the 250th anniversary year of Beethoven’s birth.

The five New York City concerts by Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique are part of Carnegie Hall’s season-long Beethoven Celebration featuring more than 35 events highlighting the immensity of the composer’s transformative impact on music, performed by a remarkable line-up of internationally renowned musicians.

Grounded in Maestro Gardiner’s exacting study of Beethoven’s original manuscripts, the symphonies will be performed as the composer would have experienced them, played on period instruments, including valveless brass, woodwinds without additional keys and levers, gut strings, and hide-covered timpani struck with hard sticks.

Sir John Eliot Gardiner (www.monteverdi.co.uk)

A key figure both in the early music revival and as a pioneer of historically informed performances, Maestro Gardiner kicks off the ORR’s five-concert series on Wednesday, February 19 at 8:00 p.m. with selections from Beethoven’s rarely heard ballet score, The Creatures of Prometheus; the concert aria, “Ah! perfido;” excerpts from Leonore; and the composer’s Symphony No. 1; Soprano Lucy Crowe joins the orchestra as soloist. On Thursday, February 20 at 8:00 p.m., the orchestra performs Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 and Symphony No. 3, “Eroica.” The series continues Friday, February 21 at 8:00 p.m. with symphonies Nos. 4 and 5. On Sunday, February 23 at 2:00 p.m., the program includes Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral” and Symphony No. 7. For the series’ final concert on Monday, February 24 at 8:00 p.m. the ORR’s Beethoven cycle culminates with the symphonies Nos. 8 and 9, with the orchestra joined by soprano Lucy Crowe, contralto Jess Dandy, tenor Ed Lyon, and bass Tareq Nazmi, alongside The Monteverdi Choir. As a prelude to the cycle, Maestro Gardiner will be joined by distinguished Beethoven scholar William Kinderman for a discussion in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall to illuminate Sir John Eliot’s approach to these symphonic masterworks (Tuesday, February 18 at 7:00 p.m.). In addition to the public discussion with Sir John Eliot on February 18, Carnegie Hall Debs Composer’s Chair Jörg Widmann will present a talk later this spring (Mar. 29, WRH), enabling audiences to gain greater insights into Beethoven’s music.

The ORR’s final February 24 concert will be heard by listeners around the world as part of the ninth annual Carnegie Hall Live broadcast and digital series with a live radio broadcast on WQXR 105.9 FM in New York and online at wqxr.org and carnegiehall.org/wqxr. Produced by WQXR and Carnegie Hall and co-hosted by WQXR’s Jeff Spurgeon and Clemency Burton-Hill, select Carnegie Hall Live broadcasts featured throughout the season include special digital access to the broadcast team, from backstage and in the control room, connecting national and international fans to the music and to each other.

When asked to reflect on thirty years of music making with the ORR and his upcoming Beethoven symphony performances, Sir John Eliot Gardiner said “When we started the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique 30 years ago, our mission statement included trying to recover the world of Beethoven’s sound. Our aim was to provide bold new perspectives on the glorious orchestral works of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Since the ensemble’s inception, we have used our time together productively and creatively to explore fresh approaches to this much-loved music, some of it familiar but also some of it neglected or undervalued. Through the use and mastery of period instruments, the ORR musicians bring out the subtle and pervasive differences in the palette of sounds that composers as different as Beethoven, Berlioz, Schumann, Debussy, and Verdi were committed to revealing. Time and again, the players have shown vision and tenacity in demonstrating the techniques and sounds required to recapture the true essence of this music. Every time we embark on a fresh project together, I am amazed and touched by the way the players seem willing to put their necks on the block in order to bring this music back to intoxicating life once again.”

The Carnegie Hall performances are part of Maestro Gardiner and the ORR’s Beethoven 250, a yearlong celebration of the composer’s milestone anniversary, and are also part of the ORR’s 30th anniversary season. The orchestra’s transatlantic tour, February 9-June 27, also includes engagements and complete symphony cycles at Chicago’s Harris Theater, London’s Barbican Hall, and Barcelona’s Palau de la Música.

Program Information

SIR JOHN ELIOT GARDINER ON THE BEETHOVEN SYMPHONIES

• Tuesday, February 18, 2020 at 7:00 PM, Weill Recital Hall

• Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Speaker
• with William Kinderman, Moderator
• Robin Michael, Principal Cello
• Anneke Scott, Principal Horn

BEETHOVEN’S SYMPHONIES AND THE EMPIRE OF THE MIND

Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s groundbreaking interpretations of Beethoven’s music have cast this magnificent body of work in a new light. Joined by distinguished Beethoven scholar William Kinderman and ORR principals Robin Michael and Anneke Scott for this illuminating discussion, Gardiner shares his insights about his approach to this immortal music. Tickets: $25

ORCHESTRE RÉVOLUTIONNAIRE ET ROMANTIQUE

• Wednesday, February 19, 2020 at 8:00 PM
• Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
• Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Artistic Director and Conductor
• Lucy Crowe, Soprano

ALL-BEETHOVEN PROGRAM

• Overture, Introduction, and Act I from The Creatures of Prometheus, Op. 43
• “Ah! perfido,” Op. 65
• Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21
• Leonore Overture No. 1, Op. 138
• “Ach, brich noch nicht, du mattes Herz!” – “Komm, Hoffnung, lass den letzten Stern” from Act II of Leonore, Op. 72
• Finale to The Creatures of Prometheus, Op. 43

Tickets: $32-$105

Boundary-Pushing Hip-Hop Duo Soul Science Lab To Perform Make A Joyful Noize in Zankel Hall on June 2, 2020

Carnegie Hall-Commissioned Production Blends Music, Spoken Word, and Media to Explore Black Joy

Carnegie Hall announced that boundary pushing hip-hop duo Soul Science Lab will perform Make a Joyful Noize on Tuesday, June 2, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. in Zankel Hall. Commissioned by Carnegie Hall as part of its 125 Commission Project, Make A Joyful Noize explores the affirming and unifying experiences that uplift the human spirit in the face of oppression. The immersive production blends sound and multimedia using music, affirmations, projected images, spoken word, and dance to celebrate unapologetic Black joy as a healing force for cultural resistance. (Ticketing Information)

Soul Science Lab is a Brooklyn-based music and multimedia duo that translates stories into soul stirring sounds and dynamic visuals and was formed by artist educator and creative director Chen Lo and multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer Asante’ Amin. Soul Science Lab produces high quality music, provides innovative arts education, and creates culturally responsive experiences. In addition to international touring, Soul Science Lab’s projects include Chen Lo’s album Footprints, Amin’s album The Visitor: Alter Destiny, the live concert and multimedia documentary Soundtrack’63, and their interactive album, Plan for Paradise.

Co-founder Chen Lo is a seasoned artist, educator, and creative director. He has toured the globe, performing and leading master classes with a number of cultural arts institutions including Jazz at Lincoln Center, the August Wilson Center, 651 ARTS, and others. Chen Lo has also shared the stage with the likes of Common, Erykah Badu, KRS-ONE, A Tribe Called Quest, Rapsody, Sunni Patterson, and Last Poets. To date, he has recorded notable collaborations with K’Naan and Jean Grae as well as international artists Stogie T and Cheikh Lô.

Co-founder Asante’ Amin is a gifted multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer. He has shared the stage with several globally renowned artists, including Rhiannon Giddens, Jessica Care Moore Blitz, Ismael Kouyaté, GZA, and others. Amin is also a MetLife Meet the Composer award-winner.

Make a Joyful Noize was commissioned as a part of Create Justice. Lead funding was provided by The Kresge Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and an anonymous donor. Support for the 125 Commissions Project is provided by members of Carnegie Hall’s Composer Club. Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.

Tickets, priced at $25, are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street, or can be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, carnegiehall.org.

For more information on discount ticket programs, including those for students, Notables members, and Bank of America customers, visit carnegiehall.org/discounts. Artists, programs, and prices are subject to change.

Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI) creates visionary programs that embody Carnegie Hall’s commitment to music education, playing a central role in fulfilling the Hall’s mission of making great music accessible to as many people as possible. With unparalleled access to the world’s greatest artists, WMI’s programs are designed to inspire audiences of all ages, nurture tomorrow’s musical talent, and harness the power of music to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. An integral part of Carnegie Hall’s concert season, these programs facilitate creative expression, develop musical skills and capacities at all levels, and encourage participants to make lifelong personal connections to music. The Weill Music Institute generates new knowledge through original research and is committed to giving back to its community and the field, sharing an extensive range of online music education resources and program materials for free with teachers, orchestras, arts organizations, and music lovers worldwide. More than 600,000 people each year engage in WMI’s programs through national and international partnerships, in New York City schools and community settings, and at Carnegie Hall. This includes more than half a million students and teachers worldwide who participate in WMI’s Link Up music education program for students in grades 3 through 5, made possible through Carnegie Hall partnerships with over 115 orchestras in the US from Alaska to Puerto Rico, as well as internationally in Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, Kenya, and Spain.

For more information, please visit: carnegiehall.org/education

Carnegie Hall Presents Le Vent du Nord and De Temps Antan in an Exciting Program Celebrating the Music of Quebec

On Friday, January 24 at 8:30 p.m., two widely popular groups from Quebec—Le Vent du Nord & De Temps Antan—come together in Zankel Hall for an exuberant performance of traditional and contemporary dance tunes of French-Canadian culture. In a program entitled QuebecFest!, the groups perform on a host of instruments that include hurdy-gurdy, jaws harp, guitar, and accordion with richly harmonized songs and instrumentals.

Le Vent du Nord and De Temps Antan. Photo Credit: https://do617.com/

Le Vent du Nord and De Temps Antan teamed up together in 2016 and have performed traditional Quebec folk music (often called “trad” in colloquial Québécois French) throughout Quebec, the US, France and Switzerland, and at the Royal Glasgow Concert Hall. In 2018, they released a recording that was awarded Album of the Year—Traditional at the Québec Association for the Recording, Concert and Video Industries (ADISQ).

The award-winning Le Vent du Nord (The North Wind) is a leading force in Quebec’s progressive francophone folk movement and a key group in the renaissance of Quebec’s traditional music. The group’s vast repertoire draws from both traditional sources and original compositions, while enhancing its hard-driving soulful music (rooted in the Celtic diaspora) with a broad range of global influences. Since its inception in August 2002, Le Vent du Nord has enjoyed meteoric success, performing well over 2,000 concerts over four continents and receiving several prestigious awards, including a Grand Prix du Disque Charles Cros, two Junos (Canada’s Grammys), a Félix at ADISQ, a Canadian Folk Music Award, and “Artist of the Year” at the North American Folk Alliance Annual Gala. The group has appeared regularly on Canadian, American, French, and UK television and radio; played recently at major festivals such as Celtic Connections, WOMAD Chile, WOMADelaide, and WOMAD New Zealand; and collaborated and performed with a diverse range of artists, including Väsen, Dervish, The Chieftains, Breton musical pioneer Yann-Fañch Kemener, Québecois roots legend Michel Faubert, singer Julie Fowlis, and the trans-Mediterranean ensemble Constantinople. Le Vent du Nord also created a symphonic concert, providing a bridge between the symphonic and Quebec traditional music. In 2018, the band—Nicolas Boulerice, Simon Beaudry, Olivier Demers and Réjean Brunet—became a quintet when André Brunet joined the ensemble.

De Temps Antan (Of Olden Times) is regarded as the most powerful trad trio in Quebec. Its members— Éric Beaudry, David Boulanger and Pierre-Luc Dupuis—have been brilliantly and skillfully exploring and renewing the Quebec traditional repertoire since 2003. Using fiddle, accordion, harmonica, guitar, bouzouki and a number of other instruments, these three virtuosos blend boundless energy with the unmistakable joie de vivre found in traditional Quebec music. Their sets include ancient songs, new tunes, uncontrollable fits of laughter, dusted-down verses, and the occasional unplanned side trip. De Temps Antan has five albums to its credit, including Ce monde ici-bas which won ADISQ’s 2014 FELIX Award for Best Traditional Music Album, and has toured North America and Europe. All three musicians have been members of various Quebécois groups, including the iconic La Bottine Souriante.

Sir Bryn Terfel Returns to Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage in Recital with Pianist Natalia Katyukova

Performance Marks Terfel’s First Recital at Carnegie Hall in Ten Years

On Sunday, February 9 at 2:00 p.m., beloved Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel returns to Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage for a recital featuring works by Ireland, Quilter, Brahms, Schumann, Schubert, selections from Vaughan Williams’s Songs of Travel as well as additional selections to be announced from the stage. He is joined by pianist Natalia Katyukova. This concert marks his first recital at Carnegie Hall in ten years; for his complete performance history please click here. The full program is listed below.

Program Information

Sunday, February 9, 2020 at 2:00 p.m., Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage

Sir Bryn Terfel, Bass-Baritone/Natalia Katyukova, Piano

• JOHN IRELAND “Sea Fever”
• JOHN IRELAND “Vagabond”
• JOHN IRELAND “The Bells of San Marie”
• ROGER QUILTER “Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal,” Op. 3, No. 2
• ROGER QUILTER “Weep You No More, Sad Fountains,” Op. 12, No. 1
• ROGER QUILTER “Go, Lovely Rose,” Op. 24, No. 3
• ROGER QUILTER “Fair House of Joy,” Op. 12, No. 7
• JOHANNES BRAHMS Vier ernste Gesänge, Op. 121

1. Denn es gehet dem Menschen wie dem Vieh
2. Ich wandte mich, und sahe an
3. O Tod, wie bitter bist du
4. Wenn ich mit Menschen- und mit Engelszungen redete

• ROBERT SCHUMANN “Belsatzar,” Op. 57
• FRANZ SCHUBERT “Trinklied,” D. 888
• FRANZ SCHUBERT “Ständchen,” D. 889
• FRANZ SCHUBERT “An Sylvia,” D. 891
• ROGER QUILTER Three Shakespeare Songs, Op. 6

1. Come away, death
2. O mistress mine
3. Blow, blow, thou winter wind

• RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Selections from Songs of Travel

1. The Vagabond
2. Whither Must I Wander
3. Bright Is the Ring of Words
4. I Have Trod the Upward and the Downward Slope

Additional selections to be announced from the stage

Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel has established an extraordinary career, performing regularly on the prestigious concert stages and opera houses of the world.

Photo of Sir Bryn Terfel by Mitch Jenkins / DG, Natalia Katyukova by Kristin Hoebermann

After winning the Song Prize at the 1989 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, Sir Bryn made his professional operatic debut in 1990 as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte with the Welsh National Opera. He made his international operatic debut in 1991 as Speaker in Die Zauberflöte at the Théâtre de la Monnaie, Brussels and made his American debut in the same year as Figaro with the Santa Fe Opera. Other roles performed during his career include Méphistophélès in Faust; both the title role and Leporello in Don Giovanni; Jochanaan in Salome; Scarpia in Tosca; the title role in Gianni Schicchi; Nick Shadow in The Rake’s Progress; Wolfram in Tannhäuser; Balstrode in Peter Grimes; Four Villains in Les contes d’Hoffmann and Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

Sir Bryn marked his 50th birthday and twenty-five years in the profession with a special gala concert at the Royal Albert Hall, presented by Hollywood star Michael Sheen. The celebrations continued at Cardiff’s Wales Millennium Centre, where he sang Scarpia in a special concert performance of Tosca with the Welsh National Opera.

Recent performances include Holländer in Der fliegende Holländer for the Zürich Opera; Falstaff at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and the world premiere of an original show by Robat Arwyn and Mererid Hopwood—Hwn Yw Fy Mrawd—chronicling the life of the film star and singer Paul Robeson at the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff as part of the National Eisteddfod of Wales.

Musical Explorers Family Concerts on Saturday, January 18 at Carnegie Hall Introduce Children to Music From Around the World

Interactive Performances Showcase Cumbia, Armenian Folk, and Hip-Hop

New York City Public School Students in Grades K–2 Learn About Different Cultures in the Classroom through Musical Explorers

Plus, More than 150,000 Students Across the US Participate in Musical Explorers Through Newly Launched Free Digital Platform

On Saturday, January 18, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., three vibrant New York City-based musical groups will perform in Zankel Hall as part of the Musical Explorers Family Concert, an interactive experience celebrating music from around the world. The performance features cumbia with Gregorio Uribe, Armenian folk with Zulal, and hip-hop with Soul Science Lab. Free pre-concert activities are offered one hour prior to each performance, preparing parents and children to sing and dance along with the artists.

Colombian singer, songwriter, and accordionist Gregorio Uribe has forged a unique place in the music scene of both the US and Latin America. Founder and leader of the Gregorio Uribe Big Band, a 16-piece orchestra that blends cumbia and other Colombian rhythms with powerful big band arrangements, he released the album Cumbia Universal featuring eight-time Grammy winner Rubén Blades. Uribe’s next project is an album with a smaller ensemble that highlights his songwriting and his signature instrument, the accordion. His music has also been showcased in documentaries and TV series, including FX’s Mayans M.C. and CBS’s MacGyver.

Zulal, which means “clear water,” is an Armenian a cappella trio that features Teni Apelian, Yeraz Markarian, and Anaïs Tekerian. The trio rearranges and re-imagines traditional Armenian folk melodies for stage and recordings. Performing since 2002, Zulal has performed at venues such as The Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. In addition to performing and arranging, Zulal also creates soundtracks for film and theater, and offers educational workshops for young audiences.

Soul Science Lab is the multimedia duo of artist, educator, and creative director Chen Lo and multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator Asanté Amin. The group’s work draws on the full lineage of black American music, from West African roots to contemporary hip-hop. Between them, they have shared the stage with The Roots, Common, Erykah Badu, KRS-One, A Tribe Called Quest, Mos Def, Raheem DeVaughn, Wynton Marsalis, and dead prez, and have performed on major stages, including Lincoln Center, BAM, and the Apollo Theater. Together, they created the groundbreaking production Soundtrack ’63, combining music and visuals to explore the black experience in the US from slavery to the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

Carnegie Hall Unveils Full Schedule of 70+ Events for its Beethoven Celebration in Honor of the 250th Anniversary of the Composer’s Birth, January – June 2020

Carnegie Hall’s Largest-Ever Celebration of One Composer Features More Than 35 Events at the Hall with Internationally Renowned Artists Exploring the Revolutionary Composer’s Works and His Transformative Impact on Music

Plus, 35+ Events Citywide at Prestigious Partner Organizations Including Music, Dance, Exhibitions, Talks, and Poetry

As the 250th anniversary year of Beethoven’s birth approaches, Carnegie Hall announces a wider schedule of partner events by leading cultural institutions, complementing the Hall’s programming as part of its Beethoven Celebration which includes an unprecedented range of performances by renowned artists exploring the composer’s works and his transformative impact on music. The Beethoven Celebration presents one of the largest explorations of the great master’s music in our time and marks the largest-ever exploration of one composer by Carnegie Hall, with 86 works of music performed by more than 58 artists and ensembles in New York City and beyond from January through June 2020. Ticketing Information.

Beyond Carnegie Hall, public programming, performances, exhibitions, and events at partner organizations—leading cultural and academic institutions in New York City and beyond—highlight the many dimensions of the great music master. The more than 35 partner events range from music and dance to poetry, exhibitions, and talks, many of which have a contemporary slant. Together, the Beethoven Celebration features more than 70 programs, creating an extraordinary view of this revolutionary composer.

“This rich series of events across New York City celebrates Beethoven’s unique place in the pantheon of the greatest artists in history as a composer whose music, perhaps more than any other, changed the course of Western classical music,” said Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall. “Beethoven was audacious and absolutely fearless, a true revolutionary who never stopped challenging himself and who redefined every area of music that he touched. His music is timeless, and he continues to connect people worldwide with sounds that remain idealistic, compelling, fearsome, and personal. It’s no surprise that people around the globe continue to turn to his music to celebrate some of the most important turning points in history. We hope this opportunity to immerse ourselves in his music during this anniversary year will highlight the transformational impact he has had on culture, inspiring fresh perspectives on his life and work.”

HIGHLIGHTS OF BEETHOVEN CELEBRATION EVENTS AT CARNEGIE HALL

Anne-Sophie Mutter. Credit: Bastian Achard

Mitsuko Uchida. Credit: Justin Pumfrey / Decca

At Carnegie Hall, the Beethoven Celebration features more than 35 events including two complete symphony cycles, the complete piano sonatas and complete string quartets, chamber music, choral works, plus additional concerts and lectures as well as an ambitious global project that explores the themes found in Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” led by Marin Alsop.

A highlight of the Beethoven Celebration—never before presented by Carnegie Hall in one season—are two complete symphony cycles, one in February 2020 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner and his Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique (ORR), performed on period instruments, and another in March and April 2020 by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra, contrasting their two different interpretive perspectives on these pillars of the orchestral repertoire.

Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, Yo-Yo Ma – Credit: Shane McCauley

Joyce DiDonato – Credit: © Simon Pauly

A key figure both in the early music revival and as a pioneer of historically informed performances, Sir John Eliot Gardiner leads his internationally acclaimed early music ensemble ORR in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1, along with the rarely-heard score for the ballet, The Creatures of Prometheus (February 19 at 8:00 p.m.). The six-day symphony cycle in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage continues with the Symphony Nos. 2 and No. 3, “Eroica” (February 20 at 8:00 p.m.); Symphony Nos. 4, and 5—with its famous opening motif—(February 21 at 8:00 p.m.); Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral” and No. 7 (February 23 at 2:00 p.m.); and Symphony Nos. 8 and 9 (February 24 at 8:00 p.m.). The soloists for the Ninth Symphony include soprano Lucy Crowe, contralt Jess Dandy, tenor Ed Lyon, and bass Tareq Nazmi alongside The Monteverdi Choir. As a prelude to the cycle, Maestro Gardiner will be joined by distinguished Beethoven scholar William Kinderman for a discussion in Weill Recital Hall that illuminates Gardiner’s approach to these symphonic masterworks (February 18 at 7:00 p.m.). These Beethoven Celebration events comprise Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s Perspectives series, which the celebrated conductor has curated for the 2019-20 season.

Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Credit: © Sim Canetty-Clarke

One of the most remarkable talents of his generation, Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads The Philadelphia Orchestra in the second complete cycle of Beethoven symphonies this season in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, beginning with Symphony Nos. 5 and 6, “Pastoral” (March 13 at 8:00 p.m.). The four-concert cycle continues with Symphony Nos. 2 and 3, “Eroica” (March 20 at 8:00 p.m.); Symphony Nos. 4, 7, and 8 (March 26 at 8:00 p.m.); and Symphony Nos. 1 and 9 (April 3 at 8:00 p.m.). The soloists for the Ninth Symphony include soprano Angel Blue, mezzo-soprano Mihoko Fujimura, tenor Rolando Villazón, and baritone Quinn Kelsey alongside the Westminster Symphonic Choir. Maestro Nézet-Séguin also leads The MET Orchestra in a program that features virtuoso superstar Anne-Sophie Mutter in Beethoven’s groundbreaking Violin Concerto and Romance for Violin and Orchestra in F Major (June 12 at 8:00 p.m.). These five Beethoven Celebration performances are part of conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s nine-concert Perspectives series this season.

Joerg Widmann. Photo Credit: Marco Borggreve

Tituss Takes Carnegie Hall

Award-Winning Guest Stars Loretta Devine, Jane Krakowski, and Lillias White Join Tituss Burgess in Carnegie Hall Tribute to Stephen Sondheim on February 1 at 8:00 PM

On Saturday, February 1 at 8:00 p.m. Emmy-nominated Broadway star Tituss Burgess makes his Carnegie Hall debut in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage with a tribute concert to the music of Stephen Sondheim. Titled Take Me to the World, guest artists include Emmy Award winner Loretta Devine and Tony Award winnersn Jane Krakowski and Lillias White. Directed by Gabriel Vega Weissman with music direction by Charlie Rosen, the program focuses on the music of Sondheim – on the occasion of his upcoming 90th birthday – and its singular impact on Burgess’s life and artistic trajectory.

On curating the program, Tituss offered, “Sondheim is a religion. I don’t claim to have some profound knowledge on interpreting his catalog, but I do have an expert awareness on how deeply I’ve been affected by his vast array of compositions. I simply want to thank him for what he’s given me and so many other people.”

Tituss Burgess by Jeff Mills

Emmy and Screen Actors Guild nominated actor, musician, and writer Tituss Burgess is quickly emerging as one of the entertainment industry’s most versatile and dynamic performers, with his work in television and theater generating both critical and commercial acclaim.

Most notably, Burgess stars as Titus Andromedon in the Emmy-nominated comedy series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, opposite Ellie Kemper, Jane Krakowski, and Carol Kane. The show follows a young woman named Kimmy Schmidt as she adjusts to life in New York City after living in a doomsday cult for 15 years. Burgess’s character becomes a friend, roommate, and mentor to Kimmy while he pursues his dreams of Broadway superstardom and becomes a viral sensation on YouTube. Tina Fey created Burgess’s outrageous character specifically for him. For the actor’s extraordinary performance on the series, Burgess has been nominated for two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series and two Critics’ Choice TV Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He was also awarded Best Actor at the 2015 Webby Awards and Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy at the 2015 Gold Derby TV Awards.

The actor was first introduced to television audiences in Tina Fey’s Emmy-winning NBC series 30 Rock, where he played the scene-stealing ‘D’Fwan,’ a vivacious hairdresser and the sidekick of Angie Jordan (Sherri Shepherd). Burgess quickly became a breakout star in the series’ fifth and sixth seasons. His other television credits include A Gifted Man, Blue Bloods, and Royal Pains. On the big screen, Burgess recently lent his voice to two major studio films: The Angry Birds Movie and Smurfs: The Lost Village – and appeared in this year’s Dolemite is My Name alongside Eddie Murphy.

A veteran of the stage, Burgess made his Broadway debut in 2005 as Eddie in Good Vibrations. Since, he has held many memorable roles on the Broadway stage including Hal Miller in Jersey Boys, Sebastian the Crab in The Little Mermaid, and Nicely-Nicely Johnson in the 2009 revival of Guys and Dolls. Burgess has also performed in regional theater productions such as The Wiz and Jesus Christ Superstar.

With a celebrated high tenor voice, Burgess is an acclaimed singer and songwriter, headlining major symphonies and top cabaret venues throughout the world. In 2008, he performed at the Broadway for Obama benefit concert in Easton, PA and the Broadway After Dark benefit concert in New York City. In 2013, he performed a gender-swapped version of the classic Dreamgirls song “And I Am Telling You…” at the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS fundraising concert for Broadway Backwards— a performance that quickly became one of the highlights of the show.

In addition, Burgess has built a rich solo music career. His most recent album Saint Tituss was released in July 2019 and follows his previous two albums, Here’s To You and Comfortable.

Program Information

February 1, 2020 at 8:00 p.m., Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage

• TITUSS BURGESS, Vocals
• Gabriel Vega Weissman, Director
• Charlie Rosen, Music Director

with Special Guests

• Loretta Devine
• Jane Krakowski
• Lillias White

Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.

In honor of the centenary of his birth, Carnegie Hall’s 2019–2020 season is dedicated to the memory of Isaac Stern in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to Carnegie Hall, arts advocacy, and the field of music.

Tickets, priced at $34–$80, are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street, by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800, or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, carnegiehall.org. In addition, a limited number of seats, priced at $10, will be available day-of-concert beginning at 11:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 12:00 noon on Sunday until one hour before the performance or until supply lasts. The exceptions are Carnegie Hall Family Concerts and gala events. These $10 tickets are available to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis at the Carnegie Hall Box Office only. There is a two-ticket limit per customer.

For all Carnegie Hall presentations in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, a limited number of partial view (seats with obstructed or limited sight lines or restricted leg room) will be sold for 50% of the full price. For more information on this and other discount ticket programs, including those for students, Notables members, and Bank of America customers, visit carnegiehall.org/discounts. Artists, programs, and prices are subject to change.

All-Star Jazz Ensemble Artemis Make Carnegie Hall Debut in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage on Saturday, December 7 at 8:00 PM

Jazz Septet To Release Upcoming Album With Legendary Blue Note Records

OnSaturday, December 7, 2019 at 8:00 p.m., jazz supergroup Artemis make their Carnegie Hall debut in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. Each renowned for their outstanding solo work, these powerhouse musicians including Cécile McLorin Salvant (Vocals), Renee Rosnes (Music Director and Piano), Anat Cohen (Clarinet and Bass Clarinet), Melissa Aldana (Tenor Saxophone), Ingrid Jensen (Trumpet), Noriko Ueda (Bass), and Allison Miller (Drums) captivate audiences with bold new arrangements of classics by The Beatles to Thelonious Monk, as well as strikingly original compositions by the group’s members.

Hailing from America, Canada, France, Israel, Chile and Japan, the musicians first assembled as a band for a European tour in summer 2017, and with each member being a bandleader in her own right, were able to align schedules and perform at the Newport Jazz Festival, Miami’s Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, and the Ferring Jazz Bistro in St. Louis. Eventually naming themselves Artemis after the Olympian goddess of the hunt and the wild, the group has just been signed to the world-famous Blue Note record label, releasing their debut album in the new year along with upcoming appearances at San Francisco’s SFJAZZ, Chicago’s Symphony Center, and Washington D.C.’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

About the Artists

Renee Rosnes is one of the premier jazz pianists and composers of her generation. Upon moving to New York City from Vancouver, Canada, she quickly established a reputation of high regard, touring and recording with such masters as Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, J.J. Johnson, James Moody and Bobby Hutcherson. She was a charter member of the all-star ensemble, the SFJAZZ Collective, with whom she toured for six years.

Rosnes has released 17 recordings, including 10 for Blue Note Records, and has appeared on many others as a sideman. In 2016, Written in the Rocks (Smoke Sessions) was named one of the Best Albums by The Nation, and earned Rosnes her 5th Canadian Juno Award. Her most recent session, Beloved of the Sky, draws inspiration from Canadian painter Emily Carr, and features Chris Potter, Steve Nelson, Peter Washington and Lenny White.

Over her 30-year career, Rosnes has collaborated with a diverse range of artists, such as Jack DeJohnette, Zakir Hussain, Christian McBride, Chris Potter, Renée Fleming and Nicholas Payton. Her works have been performed and recorded by J.J. Johnson, Phil Woods, Michael Dease, and the Danish Radio Big Band, among others.

Rosnes is a member of bassist Ron Carter’s Foursight Quartet and often performs with her husband, acclaimed pianist Bill Charlap. The couple released Double Portrait (Blue Note) and performed their New York City concert debut in Zankel Hall in spring 2011 as part of The Shape of Jazz series. The piano duo was also featured on the 2016 Grammy Award winning album, Tony Bennett & Bill Charlap – The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern (Columbia).

From 2008-2010, Rosnes was the host of The Jazz Profiles, an interview series produced by CBC Radio and has contributed two cover story interviews for JazzTimes with Wayne Shorter and with Geri Allen.

Carnegie Hall Celebrates the Holidays with Festive Musical Offerings

Carnegie Hall celebrates the holiday season with a variety of festive concerts this December. On Friday, December 20 at 8:00 p.m. andSaturday, December 21 at 8:00 p.m., jazz star Tony DeSare and Broadway star Capathia Jenkins join The New York Pops’ annual holiday celebration, ringing in the most wonderful time of the year. Hear such favorites as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” Jenkins reprising Ella Fitzgerald’s classic take on “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town,” DeSare revisiting Frank Sinatra’s beloved arrangement of “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” a rock shuffle duet of “Let it Snow,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” “Winter Wonderland,” the New York City premiere of “Eight Days of Life” in celebration of Hanukkah, and more.

The New York String Orchestra, an ensemble of remarkable young players from around the world who come together each December for a seminar of rehearsals and performance preparation, is conducted by Jaime Laredo in their annual pair of year-end concerts. On Tuesday, December 24 at 7:00 p.m., the orchestra plays an all-Mozart program including the overture toThe Marriage of Figaro, Symphony No. 41, “Jupiter,” and Violin Concerto No. 5, “Turkish” with soloist Nancy Zhou. On Saturday, December 28 at 8:00 p.m., the orchestra returns with Mr. Laredo conducting Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with soloist Shannon Lee, alongside Mendelssohn’s Sinfonia No. 10 in B Minor and Brahms’s Symphony No. 1. The program no longer features pianist Peter Serkin, who has withdrawn due to health reasons.

Carnegie Hall Exterior at Night

Program Information

A FRANK AND ELLA CHRISTMAS

• Friday, December 20 at 8:00 p.m.
• Saturday, December 21 at 8:00 p.m.
• Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
• The New York Pops
• Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor
• Tony DeSare, Guest Artist
• Capathia Jenkins, Guest Artist
• Essential Voices USA
• Judith Clurman, Music Director and Conductor
• Tickets: $44–$145

December 20 concert is sponsored by KPMG LLP. December 21 concert is sponsored by Mastercard, the Official Card of Carnegie Hall

Tuesday, December 24 at 7:00 p.m.

ALL-MOZART PROGRAM

• Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
• New York String Orchestra
• Jaime Laredo, Conductor
• Nancy Zhou, Violin
• Overture to The Marriage of Figaro
• Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major, K. 219, “Turkish”
• Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551, “Jupiter”
• Tickets: $25–$60

This concert is made possible, in part, by an endowment fund for young artists established by Stella and Robert Jones.

Saturday, December 28 at 8:00 p.m.

• Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
• New York String Orchestra
• Jaime Laredo, Conductor
• Shannon Lee, Violin
• FELIX MENDELSSOHN Sinfonia No. 10 in B Minor
• PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto in D. Major, Op. 35
• JOHANNES BRAHMS Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68
• Tickets: $25–$60

This concert is made possible, in part, by an endowment fund for young artists established by Stella and Robert Jones.

Tony DeSare (Image: The New York Pops!)

Tony DeSare performs with infectious joy, wry playfulness, and robust musicality. Named a Rising Star Male Vocalist in Downbeat magazine, DeSare has lived up to this distinction by winning critical and popular acclaim for his concert performances throughout North America and abroad. From jazz clubs to Carnegie Hall to Las Vegas, headlining with Don Rickles and major symphony orchestras, DeSare has brought his fresh take on old school class around the globe. DeSare has three top ten Billboard jazz albums under his belt and has been featured on CBS’ The Early Show, NPR, A Prairie Home Companion, and The Today Show, and his music has been posted by social media celebrity juggernaut George Takei. DeSare has also collaborated with YouTube icons Postmodern Jukebox. Notwithstanding his critically acclaimed turns as a singer/pianist, DeSare is also an accomplished award-winning composer. He not only won first place in the USA Songwriting Contest, but has also written the theme song for the motion picture My Date With Drew and several broadcast commercials, and has composed the full soundtracks for the Hallmark Channel’s Love Always, Santa and Lifetime’s Nanny Nightmare. His sound is romantic, swinging and sensual, but what sets DeSare apart is his ability to write original material that sounds fresh and contemporary, yet pays homage to the Great American Songbook. His compositions include a wide-range of romantic, funny, and soulful sounds that can be found on his top-selling recordings. DeSare’s forthcoming appearances include the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, The New York Pops, Seattle Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Omaha Symphony and the Gold Coast Jazz Society. DeSare releases new recordings, videos of standards, and new originals every few weeks on his YouTube channel, iTunes and Spotify. Follow Tony on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe on YouTube to stay connected. Tony DeSare is a Yamaha Artist.

Capaathia Jenkins (Image: The New York Pops!)

The Brooklyn-born and raised singer/actor Capathia Jenkins most recently released the critically acclaimed CD Phenomenal Woman: The Maya Angelou Songs with her collaborator Louis Rosen and they sold out the world-famous Birdland Theatre in NYC for 3 nights. She starred as Medda in the hit Disney production of Newsies on Broadway. She made her Broadway debut in The Civil War, where she created the role of Harriet Jackson. She then starred in the 2000 off-Broadway revival of Godspell, where she wowed audiences with her stirring rendition of “Turn Back, O Man”, which can still be heard on the cast recording. She returned to Broadway in The Look of Love and was critically acclaimed for her performances of the hits of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Ms. Jenkins then created the roles of The Washing Machine in Caroline, Or Change and Frieda May in Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me where she sang “Stop the Show” and brought the house down every night. In 2007 she went back to Off-Broadway and starred in (mis)Understanding Mammy: The Hattie McDaniel Story, for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. She was also seen in Nora Ephron’s Love, Loss, and What I Wore. An active concert artist, Ms. Jenkins has appeared with numerous orchestras around the world including the Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony (with Marvin Hamlisch), National Symphony, Cincinnati Pops (with John Morris Russell), Philly Pops, Atlanta Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Utah Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, San Diego Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic and many others. She was a soloist with the Festival Český Krumlov in the Czech Republic multiple times. Capathia had the great honor of performing in the “Broadway Ambassadors to Cuba” concert as part of the Festival De Teatro De La Habana. She has appeared several times at Carnegie Hall with The New York Pops and also sang in a Tribute to Marvin Hamlisch at the Library of Congress. Her upcoming 2019-2020 engagements include a return to the Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Seattle Symphony, National Symphony at The Kennedy Center, and The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall with Steven Reineke. Her television credits include 30 Rock, The Practice, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, and The Sopranos. She can be seen in the film Musical Chairs directed by Susan Seidelman. Ms. Jenkins was also seen in The Wiz in a live performance on NBC. She can be heard on the film soundtracks for Nine, Chicago, and Legally Blonde 2.

Mezzo-Soprano Joyce DiDonato Curates Carnegie Hall 2019-2020 Perspectives Series

Series Includes Six Upcoming Concerts and Three Annual Master Classes Throughout the 2019-2020 Season

Upcoming Concerts Include November Appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal, and a December Recital with Fellow Carnegie Hall Perspectives Artist Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato returns to Carnegie Hall for a series of Perspectives concerts throughout the 2019-2020 season, highlighting her full range of vocal artistry as well as her work as an educator. (Ticketing Information)

Ms. DiDonato is one of a handful of artists who have been invited to curate a second Perspectives series at Carnegie Hall. Her first Perspectives was presented throughout the Hall’s 2014–2015 season. Now in its 21st season, Carnegie Hall’s Perspectives series is an artistic initiative in which select musicians are invited to explore their own musical individuality and create their own personal concert series through collaborations with other musicians and ensembles. In the 2019–2020 season, Perspectives series will be curated by four acclaimed artists: conductors Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, and singer-songwriter Angélique Kidjo.

Joyce DiDonato by Simon Pauly

Previous Perspectives artists have included Senegalese vocalist Youssou NDOUR; Brazilian singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso; Indian classical tabla player Zakir Hussain; experimental rocker David Byrne; singer-songwriters Rosanne Cash and James Taylor; as well as conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim; conductors Pierre Boulez, James Levine, Sir Simon Rattle, David Robertson, and Michael Tilson Thomas; violinists Janine Jansen, Gidon Kremer, Anne-Sophie Mutter, and Christian Tetzlaff; cellist Yo-Yo Ma; pianists Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Leif Ove Andsnes, Martha Argerich, Emanuel Ax, Evgeny Kissin, Maurizio Pollini, Sir András Schiff, Peter Serkin, Daniil Trifonov, Mitsuko Uchida, and Yuja Wang; sopranos Renée Fleming and Dawn Upshaw; mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato; bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff; the Emerson String Quartet; the Kronos Quartet; and early music ensemble L’Arpeggiata.

Ms. DiDonato’s 2019-2020 Perspectives kicked off during the summer of 2019 when she joined Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA) on tour across Europe with her longtime collaborator conductor Sir Antonio Pappano in performances of Berlioz’s Les nuits d’été.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin by Jan Regan, Joyce DiDonato by Chris Singer

On Friday, November 15 at 8:00 p.m., she continues her series with one of her specialties: singing Berlioz’s La mort de Cléopâtre, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Muti. The program, featuring music inspired by Rome, also includes Bizet’s rarely performed Roma and Respighi’s Pines of Rome. The concert is part of the Carnegie Hall Live broadcast and digital series with a live radio broadcast on WQXR 105.9 FM in New York and online at wqxr.org and carnegiehall.org/wqxr. Produced by WQXR and Carnegie Hall and co-hosted by WQXR’s Jeff Spurgeon and Clemency Burton-Hill, Carnegie Hall Live broadcasts include behind-the-scenes access to the artists and broadcast team, connecting national and international fans to the music and to each other.

The following week, on Friday, November 22 at 8:00 p.m., she joins fellow Perspectives artist Yannick Nézet-Séguin with the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal singing arias from Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito on a program that also includes Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4, “Romantic” in the orchestra’s Carnegie Hall debut. She collaborates again with Mr. Nézet-Séguin on piano on Sunday, December 15 at 2:00 p.m., singing Schubert’s powerful song cycle Winterreise. The December 15 concert will be webcast live, free of charge, to a worldwide audience on medici.tv and carnegiehall.org/medici. The collaboration between Carnegie Hall and medici.tv—making live webcasts of select Carnegie Hall concerts available to music lovers everywhere—began in fall 2014 and has since showcased performances by some of the world’s most celebrated artists. These webcasts have been enthusiastically received, reaching over 8 million views over the past five seasons with audience members originating from more than 180 countries and territories around the world.

Ms. DiDonato joins New Yorkers of all ages onstage in Zankel Hall on Sunday, April 5 at 7:00 p.m. for All Together: Songs for Joy. This special concert features music written as part of Carnegie Hall’s worldwide exploration of the “Ode to Joy” in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and its season-long celebration honoring the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth. The young musicians will share their own perspectives on joy, a universal emotion that binds communities together.

Also that week, April 6–8 at 4:00 p.m., Ms. DiDonato returns to lead her annual series of public master classes for young opera singers, webcast via medici.tv, presented by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI) in the Weill Music Room.

The following week, Ms. DiDonato returns to Zankel Hall joined by some of her dearest musical friends: flutist Tara Helen O’Connor, clarinetist Anthony McGill, harpist Emmanuel Ceysson, pianist Bryan Wagorn, and the Brentano String Quartet for A French Soirée, presenting works by Ravel, Debussy, and the premiere of a new arrangement of Debussy’s Chansons de Bilitis by Jake Heggie commissioned by Carnegie Hall on Monday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Her Perspectives culminates on Tuesday, May 26, at 8:00 p.m. with a recital in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage titled Joyce DiDonato: My Favorite Thingswith conductor Maxim Emelyanychev leading Il Pomo d’Oro, the dynamic Italian ensemble that specializes in Baroque performance practice, in selections by Monteverdi, Gluck, Handel, and Purcell.

Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Return to Carnegie Hall, November 15-16

November 15 Concert Featuring Music Inspired by Rome Includes Carnegie Hall Perspectives Artist Mezzo-Soprano Joyce DiDonato as Soloist

November 16 Features an All-Prokofiev Program

This November, Music Director Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra return to Carnegie Hall for two concerts in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. The first evening, on Friday, November 15 at 8:00 p.m., features music inspired by Rome, including Berlioz’s La mort de Cléopâtre, written in 1829 as a bid for a Prix de Rome, with Perspectives artist mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato; Bizet’s rarely performed symphonic poem Roma; and Respighi’s Pines of Rome, one of three symphonic poems written by the Italian composer about different aspects of the Eternal City. Maestro Muti and the Orchestra return on the following night, Saturday, November 16 at 8:00 p.m., with an all-Prokofiev program featuring selections from Romeo and Juliet and Symphony No. 3.

The concert on November 15 is part of the Carnegie Hall Live broadcast and digital series with a live radio broadcast on WQXR 105.9 FM in New York and online at wqxr.org and carnegiehall.org/wqxr. Produced by WQXR and Carnegie Hall and co-hosted by WQXR’s Jeff Spurgeon and Clemency Burton-Hill, Carnegie Hall Live broadcasts include behind-the-scenes access to the artists and broadcast team, connecting national and international fans to the music and to each other. Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra last performed at Carnegie Hall in February 2018. Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.

This performance is also part of Joyce DiDonato’s Perspectives series at Carnegie Hall with concerts and events throughout the 2019–2020 season that highlight her full range of vocal artistry, as well as her work as an educator. (For more information on upcoming Perspectives performances, please visit: www.carnegiehall.org/didonato.

Program Information

Friday, November 15, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.

• Chicago Symphony Orchestra
• Riccardo Muti, Music Director and Conductor
• Joyce DiDonato, Mezzo-Soprano
• Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
• Georges Bizet Roma
• Hector Berlioz La Mort De Cléopâtre
• Ottorino Respighi Pines Of Rome
• Public support for Carnegie Hall Live on WQXR is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.
• Perspectives: Joyce DiDonato

Saturday, November 16, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.

• Chicago Symphony Orchestra
• Riccardo Muti, Music Director and Conductor
• Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
• Sergei Prokofiev Selections From Romeo And Juliet
• Sergei Prokofiev Symphony No. 3 In C Minor, Op. 44

Born in Naples, Italy, Riccardo Muti is one of the preeminent conductors of our day. In 2010, when he became the tenth music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), he had more than forty years of experience at the helm of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (1968–80), the Philharmonia Orchestra (1973–82), The Philadelphia Orchestra (1980–92), and Teatro alla Scala (1986–2005).

Photo of Riccardo Muti by Todd Rosenberg Photography

Mr. Muti studied piano under Vincenzo Vitale at the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella in his hometown of Naples, graduating with distinction. After he won the Guido Cantelli Conducting Competition—by unanimous vote of the jury—in Milan in 1967, his career developed quickly. In 1968, he became principal conductor of Florence’s Maggio Musicale, a position that he held until 1980.

Herbert von Karajan invited him to conduct at the Salzburg Festival in Austria in 1971, and Mr. Muti has maintained a close relationship with the summer festival and with its great orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, for more than 45 years. When he conducted the orchestra’s 150th anniversary concert in 1992, he was presented with the Golden Ring, a special sign of esteem and affection, and in 2001, his outstanding artistic contributions to the orchestra were further recognized with the Otto Nicolai Gold Medal. He is also a recipient of a silver medal from the Salzburg Mozarteum for his contribution to the music of Mozart and the Golden Johann Strauss Award by the Johann Strauss Society of Vienna. He is an honorary member of Vienna’s Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde (Society of the Friends of Music), the Vienna Hofmusikkapelle, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Vienna State Opera.

Mr. Muti succeeded Otto Klemperer as chief conductor and music director of London’s Philharmonia Orchestra in 1973, holding that position until 1982. From 1980 to 1992, he was music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra, and, in 1986, he became music director of Milan’s Teatro alla Scala. During his 19-year tenure, Muti conducted operatic and symphonic repertoire ranging from the baroque to the contemporary, also leading hundreds of concerts with the Filarmonica della Scala and touring the world with both the opera company and the orchestra. His tenure as music director, the longest of any in La Scala’s history, culminated in the triumphant reopening of the restored opera house with Antonio Salieri’s Europa riconosciuta, originally commissioned for La Scala’s inaugural performance in 1778.

Riccardo Muti’s vast catalog of recordings, numbering in the hundreds, ranges from the traditional symphonic and operatic repertoires to contemporary works. He also has written three books, Verdi, l’italiano and Riccardo Muti: An Autobiography: First the Music, Then the Words, both of which have been published in several languages, as well as Infinity Between the Notes: My Journey Into Music, published May 2019 and available in Italian.

Chicago symphony orchestra logo

During his time with the CSO, Mr. Muti has won over audiences in greater Chicago and across the globe through his music making as well as his demonstrated commitment to sharing classical music. His first annual free concert as CSO music director attracted more than 25,000 people to Chicago’s Millennium Park. He regularly invites subscribers, students, seniors, and people of low incomes to attend, at no charge, his CSO rehearsals. Mr. Muti’s commitment to artistic excellence and to creating a strong bond between an orchestra and its communities continues to bring the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to ever higher levels of achievement and renown.

Munich Philharmonic and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Both Return to Carnegie Hall with Two Concerts Each in Fall 2019

Music Director Valery Gergiev Leads Munich Philharmonic October 25–26 with Pianist Behzod Abduraimov and Violinist Leonidas Kavakos

Chief Conductor Mariss Jansons Leads the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra November 8–9 with Soprano Diana Damrau and Pianist Rudolf Buchbinder

Concerts on October 26 and November 8 to Be Heard Nationwide on Carnegie Hall Live on WQXR 105.9 FM and WQXR.org

Carnegie Hall welcomes back two orchestras from the culturally rich city of Munich, Germany: Munich Philharmonic and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (BRSO) this fall. On Friday, October 25 at 8:00 p.m., Music Director Valery Gergiev leads the Munich Philharmonic in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No 1. with Behzod Abduraimov and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7. The following evening,Saturday, October 26 at 8:00 p.m. they return with Leonidas Kavakos playing Brahms’s Violin Concerto. Also on the program is Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 and Jörg Widmann’s Con brio.

Just two weeks later, onFriday, November 8 at 8:00 p.m., Chief Conductor Mariss Jansons leads the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra on a program that includes R. Strauss’s Four Symphonic Interludes from Intermezzo, Four Last Songs with soprano Diana Damrau, and Brahms’s Symphony No. 4. They return the following evening onSaturday, November 9 at 8:00 p.m. with pianist Rudolf Buchbinder playing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488; Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10, and Weber’s Overture to Euryanthe.

Both the Munich Philharmonic concert October 26 and the BRSO concert on November 8 are part of the Carnegie Hall Live broadcast and digital series with a live radio broadcast on WQXR 105.9 FM in New York and online at wqxr.org and carnegiehall.org/wqxr. Produced by WQXR and Carnegie Hall and co-hosted by WQXR’s Jeff Spurgeon and Clemency Burton-Hill, Carnegie Hall Live broadcasts include behind-the-scenes access to the artists and broadcast team, connecting national and international fans to the music and to each other.

Behzod Abduraimov’s performances combine an immense depth of musicality with phenomenal technique and breath-taking delicacy. He works with leading orchestras worldwide including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra and Münchner Philharmoniker, and prestigious conductors including Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Manfred Honeck, Lorenzo Viotti, Vasily Petrenko, James Gaffigan, Jakub Hruša and Vladimir Jurowski.

Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 1990, Behzod began to play the piano at the age of five as a pupil of Tamara Popovich at Uspensky State Central Lyceum in Tashkent. He is an alumnus of Park University’s International Center for Music where he studied with Stanislav Ioudenitch, and now serves as the ICM’s artist-in-residence.

Photo of Valery Gergiev by Alexandra Shapunov; Behzod Abduraimov by Nissor Abdourazakov; Leonidas Kavakos by Marco Borggreve; Mariss Jansons by Peter Meisel; Diana Damrau by Jiyang Chen; and Rudolf Buchbinder by Marco Borggreve.

Leonidas Kavakos is recognized as a violinist and artist of rare quality, known for the integrity of his playing and for his virtuosity and superb musicianship. By age 21, Mr. Kavakos had won three major competitions: the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition (1985), the Paganini Competition (1988), and the Naumburg International Piano Competition (1988). This success led to his recording the original Sibelius Violin Concerto (1903–1904), the first recording of the work in history, which won the Gramophone Concerto of the Year Award in 1991. Mr. Kavakos was awarded the Gramophone Artist of the Year Award in 2014, and he was the winner of Denmark’s Léonie Sonning Music Prize in 2017.

Mr. Kavakos recently signed an exclusive contract with Sony Classical, for whom he has previously recorded Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and Mozart’s violin concertos, play-conducting with Camerata Salzburg. In the 2019–2020 season, in addition to concerts with major orchestras in Europe and the United States, Leonidas Kavakos will once again join Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax for three programs in Carnegie Hall comprising Beethoven trios and sonatas. He will undertake two Asian tours, first as soloist with the Singapore Symphony and Seoul Philharmonic and in recital in the NCPA Beijing, and then in the spring he performs with the Hong Kong Philharmonic and Taiwan National Symphony Orchestra, prior to playing Beethoven Sonata Cycles in Shanghai and Guangzhou with Enrico Pace. Mr. Kavakos plays the “Willemotte” Stradivarius violin of 1734.

Rosanna Cash and Ry Cooder to Perform Johnny Cash Classics at Carnegie Hall Concert

Duo Performs One-of-a-Kind Interpretations of Classics from Johnny Cash’s Beloved Songbook

On Saturday, November 2, 2019 at 8:00 p.m., in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, two American luminaries –singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash and iconic guitarist, producer, and film score composer Ry Cooder – join together in a program called Cash and Cooder on Cash: The Music of Johnny Cash. Performed in New York City for the first time, this highly anticipated event brings the duo together for a sublime tribute to Johnny Cash, featuring heartfelt personal interpretations of beloved songs from his legendary songbook.

Rosanna Cash and Ry Cooder (Cash and Cooder on Cash: The Music of Johnny Cash) to perform at Carnegie Hall, November 2, 2019

The impetus for this extraordinary evening came about when the SFJAZZ Center selected Cash as a Resident Artistic Director for its 2017 and 2018 seasons. “When I was planning my residency in San Francisco, I couldn’t stop thinking about Ry,” she says. “He and I had only performed together a few times over the years, just a song or two and it always left me wanting more. Finally, I got up my courage and asked him if he wanted to make up a show—anything at all—and I offered a few ideas. He brushed off my initial thoughts, and said, ‘What springs to mind is a show of your dad’s songs. What else can I say?’ When Ry suggested it, oddly, I didn’t even hesitate…. I told him that he was the only person on the planet I would do a show of Johnny Cash songs with.”

Cooder recalls, “I was in the 4th grade and things were not looking up. Then one day they played ‘Hey Porter’ on the aircraft worker’s radio station. In those days you heard Bob Wills and Webb Pierce, which was good, but Johnny was something different. It was like a hand reached out from my little Sears radio and grabbed me by the shirt and said, ‘you’re coming with me now.’ That was 63 years ago. So when Rosanne said, ‘Okay, let’s do Johnny,’ I said, ‘I think I’m ready.’”

Prior to Saturday’s performance, on Friday, November 1 at 8:30 p.m., Cash’s American Byways series returns to Zankel Hall with a concert featuring The Milk Carton Kids. The duo caught Cash’s attention with their unique American roots-folk flavor reminiscent of the Everly Brothers and Simon and Garfunkel. The second installment of the series, on Friday, April 24, 2020 at 9:00 p.m., features the undiluted Mississippi Hill Country Blues of multi-instrumentalist Cedric Burnside (grandson of legendary bluesman R. L. Burnside) and guitarist-vocalist Molly Tuttle (daughter of bluegrass icon Jack Tuttle). Together, they celebrate their incredible musical lineage in performances seeped in the southern American roots tradition.

Program Information

Friday, November 1, 2019 at 8:30 PM

• Zankel Hall
• The Milk Carton Kids

• Rosanne Cash, Creative Partner
• Presented as part of American Byways.
• Tickets: $50, $65

Saturday, November 2, 2019 at 8:00 PM

• Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
• Rosanne Cash And Ry Cooder
• Cash And Cooder On Cash: The Music Of Johnny Cash

• Rosanne Cash, Guitar and Vocals
• Ry Cooder, Guitar and Vocals
• John Leventhal, Guitar and Music Director
• Glenn Patscha, Piano
• Mark Fain, Bass
• Joachim Cooder, Drums
• Tickets: $41–$150

Friday, April 24, 2020 at 9:00 PM

• Zankel Hall
• Cedric Burnside/Molly Tuttle

• Rosanne Cash, Creative Partner
• Presented as part of American Byways.
• Tickets: $40, $55

About the Artists
One of the country’s pre-eminent singer/songwriters, Rosanne Cash has released 15 albums of extraordinary songs that have earned 4 Grammy Awards and 11 nominations, as well as 21 top 40 hits, including 11 No. 1 singles. She is also an author whose four books include the best-selling memoir Composed, which the Chicago Tribune called “one of the best accounts of an American life you’ll likely ever read.” Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, the Oxford-American, The Nation and many more print and online publications. A new book, Bird On A Blade, blending the images of acclaimed artist Dan Rizzie with strands of lyrics from a variety of Cash’s songs has just been published by UT Press. In addition to regular touring, Cash has partnered in programming collaborations with Lincoln Center, SFJAZZ, Minnesota Orchestra, and The Library of Congress. She was awarded the SAG/AFTRA Lifetime Achievement award for Sound Recordings in 2012 and received the 2014 Smithsonian Ingenuity Award in the Performing Arts. She was chosen as a Perspectives Series artist at Carnegie Hall for the 2015-16 season, and curated a series of American roots music, including her own performance.

She continues her association with Carnegie Hall as a Creative Partner for the 2019-20 season. She also served as 2015 Artist-in-Residence at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters’ Hall of Fame that same year. In 2018, Cash was awarded with the Spirit of Americana: Free Speech Award by the Americana Music Association and received an honorary doctorate degree from the Berklee College of Music. Her latest album released in November 2018 is She Remembers Everything (Blue Note), a poetic, lush and soulful collection of songs that reckon with a flawed and complex world, as she elucidates in this short film about the album. She Remembers Everything followed Rosanne’s triple-GRAMMY winning 2014 album The River & The Thread.

Ry Cooder is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and film score composer best known for his unparalleled skill on the slide guitar. Cooder has been the recipient of six GRAMMY Awards including Best World Music Album, Best Pop Instrumental Album, and the 1997 Best Tropical Latin Performance GRAMMY for his work producing the classic album Buena Vista Social Club.

His wide-ranging discography includes over 20 classic albums, such as Boomer’s Story (1972), Chicken Skin Music (1976), Bop till You Drop (1979), Get Rhythm (1987), Borderline (1980), My Name is Buddy (2007), Election Special (2012), and Live in San Francisco (2013), which was recorded during a two night stint at the famous Great American Music Hall and featured Joachim Cooder, Arnold McCuller, and Flaco Jimenez. His collaborations with fellow musicians over the years have produced quintessential albums such as Little Village (1992), The Long Black Veil with The Chieftains (1995), Mambo Sinuendo with Manuel Galban (2003), and the aforementioned award-winning Buena Vista Social Club, which saw the reunion of some of the greatest surviving musicians of the 20th century Cuban music scene. Cooder also performed on Buena Vista Social Club at Carnegie Hall, a live album recorded during the group’s sold-out 1998 Carnegie Hall concert.

Cooder’s skill as a musician and composer has translated into his scoring multiple film soundtracks for films such as Paris, Texas, The Long Riders, Southern Comfort, Streets of Fire, Last Man Standing, and Crossroads. An in-demand session musician, over the years Cooder has performed on albums by The Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Nancy Sinatra, Kim Carnes, Randy Newman, John Hiatt, James Taylor, Warren Zevon, The Beach Boys, and Mavis Staples. His latest album, The Prodigal Son (Fantasy), released worldwide in May 2018.

Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.

In honor of the centenary of his birth, Carnegie Hall’s 2019–2020 season is dedicated to the memory of Isaac Stern in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to Carnegie Hall, arts advocacy, and the field of music

Ticket Information

Tickets are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street, or can be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, carnegiehall.org.

For Carnegie Hall Corporation presentations taking place in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, a limited number of seats, priced at $10, will be available day-of-concert beginning at 11:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 12:00 noon on Sunday until one hour before the performance or until supply lasts. The exceptions are Carnegie Hall Family Concerts and gala events. These $10 tickets are available to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis at the Carnegie Hall Box Office only. There is a two-ticket limit per customer.

In addition, for all Carnegie Hall presentations in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage a limited number of partial view (seats with obstructed or limited sight lines or restricted leg room) will be sold for 50% of the full price. For more information on this and other discount ticket programs, including those for students, Notables members, and Bank of America customers, visit carnegiehall.org/discounts. Artists, programs, and prices are subject to change.

Joan And Sanford I. Weill To Become Carnegie Hall’s First $100 Million Lifetime Donors

New $14.6 Million Weill Gift To Support Carnegie Hall’s Artistic and Educational Initiatives, Including Music Education and Teacher Training Programs in New York City Public Schools

Carnegie Hall announced that, thanks to a generous $14.6 million gift, Joan and Sanford I. Weill and The Weill Family Foundation have earned the unique distinction of becoming the first private donors in Carnegie Hall’s history to reach the $100 million threshold in cumulative lifetime giving.

This new gift to Carnegie Hall’s 125th Anniversary Campaign will provide important support to Carnegie Hall’s artistic and educational initiatives with $5 million specifically earmarked to underwrite the Hall’s music education and teacher training programs in New York City public schools.

Sanford I. Weill joined the Carnegie Hall Board of Trustees in 1983, was elected Chairman in 1991, and then President in 2015. For more than three decades, Mr. Weill and his wife, Joan, have been centerstage for each of Carnegie Hall’s major milestones, generously supporting the 1986 historic restoration of the main auditorium (now Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage) and recital hall (now Weill Recital Hall); the building of the Hall’s endowment fund in the late 1990s; the construction of Zankel Hall and establishment of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute in 2003; and the renovation of the Hall’s Studio Towers, creating a home for music education on the building’s upper floors, in 2014.

A committed fundraiser who has always led by example, campaigns led or co-chaired by Mr. Weill have raised $525 million for Carnegie Hall’s endowment and capital projects. Thanks to the stewardship of Mr. Weill and his fellow trustees, Carnegie Hall’s endowment has grown from $4 million in 1991 to more than $320 million today. Under the auspices of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, the Hall’s music education and community programs have expanded ten-fold and continue to grow, now serving more than 600,000 people around the globe.

“I can’t remember a time when Carnegie Hall hasn’t been a central part of Joan and my life,” said Sanford I. Weill, Carnegie Hall’s President. “We are so proud of everything that has been accomplished here over the years, especially in the area of music education, with kids having the chance to experience great music at the finest concert hall and develop their potential through music. It is very rewarding to think about how this amazing hall will be enjoyed by future generations. We truly think the best is yet to come.”

“It’s my pleasure to congratulate Sandy and Joan on this incredible milestone and thank them for their unparalleled generosity to our community,” said Robert F. Smith, Chairman of Carnegie Hall’s Board of Trustees. “Stretching over decades, their advocacy for Carnegie Hall has been inspiring to so many of us. Their dedication to this Hall is built on our joint belief that music and education have the power to transform lives—and their work toward our cause will continue to make a true impact.”

“I have always admired Sandy and Joan’s deep passion for Carnegie Hall, their massive commitment to music education, and their focus on ensuring that this iconic place is always safeguarded, continually evolving to meet the needs of today’s audiences and the world’s finest artists,” said Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall. “In my work with Sandy, he has always been a forward-thinking leader who, in asking the best questions and testing ideas, has always had the best interest of Carnegie Hall at heart. I could not have wished for a better partner for all that we aspired to achieve together for Carnegie Hall over the last fourteen years.”

From the beginning of his service to the Hall, Mr. Weill worked closely with Stern and board leaders to safeguard the famed concert venue, a building saved from demolition in 1960, however still in dire need of restoration. Upon joining the board, Mr. Weill co-chaired, with then-Chairman James D. Wolfensohn, the $60 million Campaign for Carnegie Hall, leading to the historic 28-week restoration of Carnegie Hall’s main auditorium and recital hall in 1986, a project that modernized the Hall’s facilities and brought these two concert venues back to their original glory. The Carnegie Hall Recital Hall was reopened in January 1987, renamed as the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Recital Hall in recognition of the Weills’ leadership and generous support.

Among other major highlights of Mr. Weill’s board leadership was the completion and unveiling of the Judy and Arthur Zankel Hall—Carnegie Hall’s $100 million modern, underground concert venue—which opened in 2003, paving the way for expanded performance and education programming. Also in 2003, Carnegie Hall established the Weill Music Institute (WMI), the new umbrella under which the Hall’s existing education and community programs would be significantly expanded with a goal of reaching increased local, national, and international audiences. The work of WMI was buoyed by a new endowment supporting music education created earlier that year with more than $60 million raised in one night at a March 2003 gala celebrating Mr. Weill’s 70th birthday and his 20th anniversary as a trustee. Today, WMI programs engage with 600,000 people around the world each season, including more than 55,000 students and teachers in New York City public schools. Carnegie Hall currently dedicates approximately $14 million of its budget to support these programs annually.

Most recently, Mr. Weill led Carnegie Hall’s Studio Towers Renovation Project campaign, a comprehensive undertaking that has created inspirational new spaces for music education on the Hall’s upper floors while also fully refurbishing the Hall’s backstage areas and offices. The $230 million project was capped in 2014 with the opening of the new 61,000 square-foot Judith and Burton Resnick Education Wing, comprised of 24 new rooms for music education, including the double-height Weill Music Room. Adjacent to the new wing are new spaces for entertaining including the Weill Terrace Room and the Weill Terrace, a new outdoor roof terrace that serves as an ideal gathering place for those engaged in Carnegie Hall events and activities.

Sanford and Joan Weill continue to be very active and generous philanthropists, supporting organizations around the globe. In addition to his post with Carnegie Hall, Mr. Weill is Chairman Emeritus of Weill Cornell Medical College; Founder and Chairman of the National Academy Foundation; Chairman of the Executive Council at University of California, San Francisco; Chancellor’s Advisory Board member at University of California, Davis; Board of Visitors member at University of California, Berkeley; Chairman of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation; and Honorary Chair of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy. He is a member of the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

A tireless champion for social service and cultural organizations for decades, Joan Weill is a member of the Board of Overseers at University of California, San Francisco; Co-Chairman of the New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine Women’s Health Symposium; Co-Chairman of the Weill Music Institute Advisory Council at Carnegie Hall; past Chairman of Paul Smith’s College of the Adirondacks; past President and board member of Citymeals-On-Wheels; and former executive committee member of Women in Need. A driving force in the growth of Alvin Ailey, Joan is Chairman Emerita and continues to serve on the board. Married 64 years, the Weills received the 2009 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy and the 2017 Kennedy Center Award for the Human Spirit in recognition of their philanthropic efforts.

Since 1891, Carnegie Hall has set the international standard for excellence in performance as the aspirational destination for the world’s finest musicians. Carnegie Hall presents a wide range of performances each season on its three stages—the renowned Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, intimate Weill Recital Hall, and innovative Zankel Hall—including concert series curated by acclaimed artists and composers; citywide festivals featuring collaborations with leading New York City cultural institutions; orchestral performances, chamber music, new music concerts, and recitals; and the best in jazz, world, and popular music. Complementing these performance activities, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute creates extensive music education, community, and social impact programs that serve people of all ages in the New York City area, nationally, and internationally, playing a central role in Carnegie Hall’s commitment to making great music accessible to as many people as possible. For more information, visit carnegiehall.org.

SPOTLIGHT ON: CRYSTAL SUMMER SAILINGS DEBUTING TOMORROW’S BRIGHTEST MUSICAL STARS

EUROPEAN ITINERARIES FEATURE MARQUIS PERFORMANCES FROM THE MUSIC CENTER OF LOS ANGELES

Aboard two Northern Europe cruises next summer, CRYSTAL CRUISES‘ guests will have the rare opportunity to enjoy live performances from some of tomorrow’s brightest stars at the beginning of their professional careers. Continuing its exclusive partnership with the MUSIC CENTER OF LOS ANGELES‘ distinguished SPOTLIGHT PROGRAM, the ultra-luxury line will showcase the talents of the program’s most acclaimed young artists on its 2013 “EMERGING ARTISTS” EXPERIENCES OF DISCOVERY VOYAGES:

— CRYSTAL SYMPHONY ICELAND/NORWAY VOYAGE (Reykjavic to London, June 4): Flamenco guitarist TIM CALLOBRE, vocalist GEOFFREY HAHN, and flautist SARAH JOHNSON will perform jazz, blues, and international classics, with Broadway personality KAREN MORROW leading a master class in vocal performance.

— CRYSTAL SERENITY SCANDINAVIA/GERMANY/RUSSIA CRUISE (Copenhagen to Stockholm, June 15): Opera singer SEAN PLUMB, classical pianist TIANPENG YU, and ballet dancers CHARLIE ANDERSON and SHELBY ELSBREE will perform classical and operatic pieces, with ballet mistress FRANCINE KESSLER-LAVAC leading a master class in ballet.

Ballet dancer Charlie Anderson ‘warms up’ during one of Crystal’s Master Classes at Sea, offered during their ‘Emerging Artists’ theme cruises

The 11-day, June 4 “Emerging Artists” voyage overnights in REYKJAVIC, then visits HEIMAEY, ICELAND; TORSHAVN, DENMARK; ALESUND, HELLESYLT, BERGEN, EIDFJORD and STAVANGER, NORWAY; and LONDON.  The 10-day, June 15 sailing overnights in Copenhagen on June 15 before calling in BERLIN, GERMANY; HELSINKI, FINLAND; ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA (two overnights); TALLINN, ESTONIA; and STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN (overnight).  Through December 28, all-inclusive “Book Now” cruise fares start at $4,565 for 11 days and $4,580 for 10 days, respectively.

In addition to solo and ensemble performances on/in the ships’ stylish stages and expansive atriums, MASTER CLASSES AT SEA will offer behind-the-scenes insight into the discipline required to perform at/with such esteemed institutions as CARNEGIE HALL, JULLIARD, NEW YORK CITY BALLET, and KENNEDY CENTER at such young ages. A new, dedicated, in-stateroom Music Center television channel will also showcase the Music Center’s Spotlight program and the performers’ intensive training.

Crystal Serenity

“Like Crystal, the Music Center has been a preeminent leader in its field for decades, with the highest standard for talent and a reputation for excellence,” says CHRISTOPHER ESCAMILLA, CRYSTAL’S MANAGER, PRODUCTION OPERATIONS AND ENTERTAINMENT INTEGRATION. “When you consider the extraordinary stages these young artists have performed upon already, and the growing success sure to come in their futures, we’re thrilled to have them playing exclusively for Crystal guests during even a few short weeks en route to the top.”

For more information and Crystal reservations, contact a travel agent, call 888-799-4625, or visit www.crystalcruises.com.